Maximum Ride: Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports

It's been days since Max and her friends have been ambushed by Erasers, and the tentative sense of security is making them uneasy. Until Max's Voice informs them that all the Erasers and other genetic projects have been exterminated and the bird kids are the last ones remaining. Then the flock is captured by what has replaced the Erasers - flying robots with Eraser skin that are harder to get rid of. Plus, one of their own may be a traitor. The flock discovers that Intex, the company in control of the School and the Institute, and pretty much the world, has started phase 1 of the By-Half Plan to reduce the world's population by half. After escaping, Max and Fang divide the group in two, each having their own ideas of how the world should be saved. The girls head to Germany to take down the Itex World Headquarters, while the boys use Fang's blog to enlist activist children all over the world. In Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports, Max's questions about her family are answered and she faces the tragic death of a key player in her life.

Maximum Ride: School's Out - Forever

The second book in the Maximum Ride series is even more exciting than the first. Max and her flock of human-bird hybrid children narrowly escape countless run-ins with Jeb, the scientist who helped them escape, but later abandoned them to return to the School. They are still on the run from the relentless Erasers, led by Ari, who is Jeb's son and holds a major grudge against Max for, um, killing him. The group is still trying to track down their missing parents, with mixed results. To top it of, Max has a shiny new voice in her head (that isn't her own), insisting that she was created to save the world. Whatever that means. School's Out - Forever is an emotional ride that has me officially hooked on these bird kids.

Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment

James Patterson's Maximum Ride series is about a group of genetically-altered hybrid children with human and bird dna, resulting in wings and other bird characteristics. Maximum, or Max, is the oldest, and takes it upon herself to lead the "flock", which consists of Fang, Iggy, Nudge, the Gasman, and little Angel. The group escaped from the lab called the "School" where they were created and have been hiding out ever since. When Angel is abducted by the vicious Erasers, a human-wolf hybrid also created in the School, Max vows to rescue her, no matter the cost. The bird kids face the unfamiliar outside world to free Angel and infiltrate the mysterious Institute, while trying to keep a low profile and outrun the relentless Erasers that seem to materialize around every corner. The Angel Experiment is a suspenseful, action packed thriller that lives up to its promise to take the reader on the maximum ride.

Pretty Little Liars, Books 1-4

The first four books in Sara Shepards young adult series are Pretty Little Liars, Flawless, Perfect, and Unbelievable. The books are about five best friends who think they rule their small town; Alison, Aria, Spencer, Emily, and Hannah. When Alison disappears one night, the remaining friends quickly grow apart. Three years later, Alison is still missing and the other girls have moved on with their lives. Until they all receive ominous messages from someone who calls themself "A". A knows secrets that only Alison knew, so they all assume she is back and playing a prank on them. Then her body is found. The lives of the four remaining friends spiral out of control as they struggle to discover the identity of A, prevent A from spilling their darkest secrets, find out who killed Alison, and uncover Alison's own shocking secrets. The four girls fight for survival as they solve all the mysteries in Unbelievable. But with four books left in the series, one can only imagine what is in store for these pretty little liars. For a young adult series about rich high-schoolers, these books have a lot of depth. The twists are well thought out and the reader is lead to suspect everyone else before the actual killer and stalker. Sara Shepard has created a thrilling suspense series that I love, and I look forward to the next four books.

The Carrie Diaries

The Carrie Diaries by Candace Bushnell is about Sex & The City's Carrie Bradshaw and her senior year in high school. I had an extremely difficult time picturing young Carrie growing up to become the fashion savvy woman we all love, and her quirky, feminist personality made it even more unbelievable. When I took a step back and looked at The Carrie Diaries as its own story and not a prequel, I was finally able to enjoy it. I liked that Carrie wasn't the most popular girl in school, and that she snagged the desirable new boy, but her tendency to be pushed around and put up with being cheated on was infuriating. My favorite part was the end, when Carrie travels to New York for the summer and circumstances lead her to meet Samantha Jones.

Stardust

Stardust is Neil Gaiman's beautiful tale of Tristran, a naive boy from the small, sheltered town of Wall, who journeys into the magical land of Faerie to find a fallen star for the girl he wishes to marry. Tristran eventually finds the star, which turns out to be not a rock, but a beautiful young woman called Yvaine. Along the way, Tristran and his star meet dangerous people and helpful strangers, and endure adventures they could not have dreamt. Their story parallels those of the ancient witch queens Lilim, an enslaved Faerie woman, and the seven heirs of Stormhold, until each of their paths intersect and become hopelessly entangled. Through all of his trials, Tristran finally discovers his true home, and realizes that what he was searching for was right in front of him all along. I am a sucker for happy endings, and I love books that challenge me. Even after I thought I had solved the puzzle, I was surprised by the ending.

L.A. Candy

L.A. Candy is written by Lauren Conrad, the former star of MTV's reality show, The Hills. Her fictional book is about a 19-year-old girl, Jane, who has just moved to Los Angeles with her best friend Scarlett. At a club, Jane and Scarlett are approached by a television producer who wants them to star in his new reality show, L.A. Candy. the book mirrors Lauren's experience as a star of The Hills. Some of the other cast members appear in the book with name changes and minor changes in details. The writing is very juvenile and lacks depth, but I did find humor in the similarities between L.A. Candy and The Hills. Also, I think there was too much emphasis put on name brands and detailing the characters' ensembles. does everyone need to wear skinny jeans or a dress "accentuated by a bow"?

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner

This Eclipse novella supports the Twilight Saga the way the unpublished Midnight Sun does. For me, hearing another character's thoughts and feelings helps the story feel complete. The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner is the story of one of the newborn vampires in the "army" created to destroy Bella. Bree is only three months old when her existence intersects Bella's and her short life is ended by the Volturi. Before that, Bree describes the insatiable thirst, finding and losing true love, living in the dark about vampire rules and realities, and being guided into an impossible battle by a misinformed leader. When Bree is found by the Cullens she has no desire to fight, so they offer to accept her as their own and teach her everything that has been kept from her. Sadly, we already know how this story ends. Learning about how the newborns were deceived makes me sympathize with them just a little. My favorite part of the book was how Jasper's talent affected Bree, who was extremely confused by her rapidly changing emotions.

House Rules

This is the fourth book I've read by Jodi Picoult and she is one of my favorite writers. She puts so much detail into every part of her story, and shows each character's point of view, which makes it so realistic. House Rules is about a teenage boy with Asperger's Syndrome, Jacob, who is accused of murdering his tutor whom he had a crush on. All the evidence points to Jacob's involvement, not to mention his obsession with forensics and the fact that he constantly fidgets and avoids eye contact. Just when the prosecution thinks they have hard evidence and a cut-and-dry case, the truth starts to unravel, shocking everyone, even Jacob. The court scenes were very long and repetitive, but I was intrigued and saddened to learn more about Asperger's, especially hearing the difficulties and frustrations from Jacob's point of view.

The Princess Bride

This is, without a doubt, one of my all-time favorite books. It is written by William Golding, but is presented as if Golding abridged the story by a fictitious S. Morgenstern, including the "good parts" and his own thoughts throughout. The story begins with Buttercup falling in love with Westley, a farm boy. Westley travels to America to make a fortune for his future with Buttercup, but his ship is taken over by the Dread Pirate Roberts. When she hears about Westley's death, Buttercup agrees to marry Prince Humperdinck, but warns him that she will never love again. Before the wedding, Buttercup is kidnapped by a hunchback, a giant, and a master swordsman. She is rescued by a mysterious man in black who calls himself the Dread Pirate Roberts, and is later revealed to be Westley. The Prince captures them and Buttercup agrees to marry him if he'll let Westley go free, but secretly he tortures him to death. Fezzik, the giant, and Inigo, the swordsman steal Westley's body and take it to a miracle man, who is able to gradually revive him. The three then rush to the castle to stop Buttercup's wedding, and they all live more or less happily ever after. With its hilarious scenarios and one-liners, The Princess Bride truly is a "classic tale of true love and high adventure".